Naruto: Next Generation Oneshots
by Calamity Heart
Summary: Based off of my DeviantART counterpart, Novahearted's Literature pieces. Follow Arata, Sedai, Sani, Suni, and all of the Next Generation ninja in their wacky adventures. Better than it sounds, trust me! Please R&R with your ideas for future one-shots.
1. Arata's Mailbox

**(A/N: Hello, all who care to read the author's notes! I'm Shadowheart10, known as Novahearted on deviantART. The only reason I mentioned this is because this story is a series of one-shots that are loosely based on my Literature pieces on dA, following the wacky adventures of the original Naruto characters' children. The first several chapters will feature the twelve main characters one by one, to get you familiar with them. We'll start with our sassy, spunky heroine, Arata Uzumaki, second child of Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki.)**

Arata hated her mailbox.

She didn't mind her other household chores, which, by the way, emphasized many housewife stereotypes: washing dishes, washing clothes, and running to get groceries, but getting the mail was the chore she despised most of all.

Why? One word. Fanboys.

Being the Hokage's daughter had many perks. One of which being the attention that every cute boy in the Village gives you. Always offering to help you cross the street or offering to help carry the groceries home, or even offering to carry YOU home. Most of the time, Arata thought it was sweet and considerate. Other times, it got kind of annoying, but on rare occasions, like with the mailbox, it just got plain weird.

Getting the mail was half the battle. Almost everyday, the mailbox was stuffed with love letters that reeked of cologne and desperation. Sometimes, there were gifts, like flowers or boxes of chocolate, which she happily accepted. A usual trip to the mailbox took at least twenty-five minutes, and that's just to get the friggin' stuff OUT of the mailbox.

The other half of the battle was screening the mail. Arata's stalkers were getting clever and stopped marking their letters, so Arata was forced to open it and read it to see if it was for her or another family member. Here's an example of a stalker's basic freaky letter.

_Dear Arata,_

_I've been watching you. For a long time now. I watch you when you don't even know it. I watch you when you sleep at night. You wear the sexiest orange and white pajamas ever. I watch you when you train by yourself. It turns me on when sweat makes your crisp pink skin glisten like a goddess. I even watch you when you bathe. Your beautiful nude body and straight, wet hair makes me rock ha-_

Hrm hm! So, most times, Arata is too disturbed to finish letters, and they're unsigned, so she doesn't know who writes them. She usually rips them up, like she ripped up the one that she just half-read.

"Who in the world keeps writing these stupid perverted letters?" Arata screamed, clutching her hair.

Elsewhere in the Uzumaki household, Arata's older brother, Sedai, sneezed. He sniffed once, then smiled as he continued to work on his newest written torture for his naïve little sister.

**(A/N: And that's the first of many chapters! ^^ The next chapter will feature Arata's older sibling, Sedai. Feel free to give your ideas for Sedai's feature. The story depends on it! See you next time! ;-))**


	2. Pros and Cons of the Byakugan

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(A/N: Here's the second chapter of my One-shot series, featuring Sedai Uzumaki, oldest child of Naruto and Hinata.)

Sedai grumbled as he walked. About an hour ago, Hinata had encouraged Sedai to practice his Byakugan, and forgetting that Hinata was pregnant with a third child and extremely hormonal, he attempted to argue with her, which only ended up with a stinging red cheek and bleeding ears.

"Alright, let's check my surroundings." Sedai murmured to himself, making a hand sign and activating his Hyuga bloodline limit. He decided to focus on a produce stand.

"Judging by the size of the crates and the volume and surface area of each individual fruit, I estimate about 472 fruits and vegetables. Nice."

Sedai turned his eyes to the sky.

"Crows. Birds with the highest bone density in the entire Land of Fire, built for group flight where everyone can equally share the work. Like I didn't know THAT before." Sedai said sarcastically.

"Ooh. A concrete building. Concrete is the hardest material for a Byakugan to see through. Let's give it a try."

Sedai made all of his available chakra rush into his eyes, intensifying his Byakugan. Slowly, but surely, he began to see through the wall.

When he saw the contents of the building, Sedai's jaw dropped and he was frozen solid. After a few moments of stunned silence, his nose exploded in a torrent of blood, snapping his head back and causing him to fall backwards, unconscious and drowning in his blood.

Sedai failed to notice that steam was rising from the vents above the building, and above the door on the side of the building opposite the one Sedai saw was a sign that read 'Women's Bathhouse'.

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(A/N: Hehehe… Expect to see more Sedai-centric torture in future chapters. The next chapter will focus on not one, but THREE characters! The Uchiha Triplets of Sani, Soni, and Suni, all girls. These three stooges are the daughters of Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, an impossible pairing at this point, I know, but just pretend that Sasuke never turned evil. ^^ The next chapter will be up within the hour, so keep your eyes peeled.)


	3. Loving Sisters

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(A/N: As I promised, here's the next chapter, featuring three of my favorite characters, Sani, Soni, and Suni Uchiha!)

Two similar-looking young girls, no older than thirteen, stood before each other, one with mainly black and dark blue clothing, the other mainly pink and white. One wore a smile, the other wore a frown. The scene was literally set for a battle to the death.

"1..." the dark-wearing, frowning girl said, raising her hand.

"2..." the light-wearing, smiling girl said, raising the opposite hand.

"3..." both girls said, tensing their respective hands.

"CHARGE!"

Instead of running toward each other with fire and bloodlust in their eyes, they stood where they were, charging large globs of electricity in their hands. Both seemed about equal in size and intensity.

The electricity continued to flash for several more seconds, then both girls discharged.

"Mine was bigger!"

"No, mine!"

"Don't fight it, Suni! You KNOW that my Chidori was bigger!"

"Don't be ridiculous! I've been training for weeks. I beat my own personal records five times straight!"

"Whatever record you could make I could beat in my sleep!"

"You just can't accept that I won this one! You've always been jealous of me!"

"What do I have to be jealous of? I'm older than you! I was born first!"

"There is no oldest triplet, dumb-dumb!"

"I'm 28 SECONDS older! You were born last!"

"You're still jealous." Suni said with a sly smile, crossing her arms.

"How am I jealous? Give me one example of something on you that I have to be jealous of!" Sani retorted, squinting

"These." Suni said, feeling her breasts.

"Wha- What?"

"You're jealous that even though I'm the youngest out of the three of us, I'm also the most well-endowed."

"Why would I be jealous of your breasts?"

"Because you don't have any! Your chest is as flat as a ten-year-old boy's!"

"Oh, you just HAD to bring this up again, didn't you?"

"The word for today is 'irony'."

"No, the word for today is 'bitch', as in 'Suni is a…'

"Don't you cross that line!"

"Too late! Your line has been crossed! What are you going to do about it, bra-stuffer?"

"Flatchest!"

"Ditz!"

"Goth!"

"Bitch!"

"Uh…BIGGER bitch!"

Just as the fight was about to move to fisticuffs, another similar-looking girl stepped in between them and placed both hand on either other girl's head.

"Soni? What are you doing he-" Suni began to ask, but before she could finish, Soni sent powerful surges of electricity into both of her sisters.

After several seconds, Soni discharged and let Sani and Suni go, allowing them to fall to the floor with smoking eyes and mouths.

"Beat that, bitches." Soni said before walking away from her crispy sisters.

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(A/N: Soni pwns ALL! ^^ If you have any ideas for future one-shots involving any of the characters you've seen so far, be sure to let me know, either in a review (which I'd prefer), or a PM. The next chapter will focus on another of my favorite characters, Arufa Inuzuka, daughter of everyone's favorite dog-boy, Kiba.)


	4. Ruff Life

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(A/N: Here we go again! The fourth chapter! This time, it's featuring Arufa Inuzuka. Enjoy, and don't be afraid to review -pleaded the desperate author- Who said that?)

Within the walls of the Hidden Leaf Village, all seemed calm and uneventful, which is what made everybody wary. NOTHING was calm and uneventful in the Village for very long, especially when SHE came out to play.

As if on cue, the screech of a frightened cat pierced the air, and said cat barreled out of a nearby alleyway, sprinting like a cat out of hell. And hell was closing in quick.

Out of the same alleyway came not a dog, but the closest thing a human can get to a dog, Arufa Inuzuka. Growling and yapping like an excited little puppy, which she basically was, Arufa pounded through the streets on all fours, chasing the cat and flattening everything in her path as if nothing else existed but this cat. This particular cat which Arufa has been chasing for weeks now.

"I've got you now, you pussy!" Arufa yelled, pouncing.

Her target made a swift left turn and disappeared down another alleyway. Arufa ended up pouncing the ground and getting rewarded with a mouthful of dirt. She quickly spit it out and ran down the alleyway with the cat.

The now-christened 'pussy' scrabbled up a rough wall and began to run across the rooftops.

"Old cat, new tricks, huh? Well, doggy see, doggy do!" Arufa said, tensing her legs and leaping onto the roof of her target's current building. Shingles rained down on those two-legged people that yelled at Arufa from the ground. Eventually, the cat ran out of roof and leaped back down to the ground.

Lacking the agility of her target, when Arufa jumped off of the roof, she landed on her face again, but just as quickly recovered and continued chasing the cat, who leaped down another alley.

Arufa chased it, but it leaped down a second branch alley that connected to the one that they ran in. Arufa tried to stop to chase the cat again, but skidded and crashed into a small grey trash can, sending dated newspaper clippings and old food everywhere.

Arufa crawled out of the nasty pile and shook herself off, running down the side alley.

When she broke into open air again, she didn't see her target anywhere.

"Kogane, you still with me buddy?" Arufa whispered into her beige jacket.

A small golden dog crawled up into Arufa's jacket hood, disoriented from the wild ride he was just taken on. He shook his head and barked.

"Good boy! Can you tell me where that cat went?"

Kogane nodded, then sniffed the air.

The tiny dog pointed his nose to the left.

"Aw! Good boy!" Arufa said before running in the direction that Kogane pointed.

Up ahead, the cat was strutting around in victory. It didn't even notice Arufa until she pounced on it.

"Caught'ya!" Arufa said. Naturally, the cat struggled fighting violently with Arufa in a whirlwind of the cat's black hair and Arufa's messy brown hair.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" yelled an indignant voice. The voice's possessor grabbed both the cat and Arufa and pulled them apart.

It was a girl, about Arufa's age and height. She didn't look happy.

"Arufa, how many times have I told you to stop chasing Gobi?"

"As many times as I've done it? But not to worry, Miyu! I caught him! Victory is mine!"

"Ugh, why do best friends have to be so infuriating?" Miyu said, letting Arufa go and walking back into her house with Gobi still in her clutches. The black cat hissed hatefully at Arufa before Miyu closed the door.

The dog-girl sighed, then stood straight up in a human stance.

"Well, Kogane, I'm tuckered. How about you?"

The golden dog responded with a squeaky yawn.

"I hear that. Let's head on home. Dad's making fried chicken!" Arufa said excitedly before running off. Kogane followed, yapping all the way.

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(A/N: Can you see why Arufa's one of my favorites? Next chapter will feature Gobi's owner, Miyu. The chapter after that will feature Miyu's brother, Azuri. PLEASE REVIEW!)


	5. Hair Brained

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(A/N: This next chapter is about Miyu Hyuga, oldest daughter of Neji and Tenten Hyuga. Enjoy!)

Miyu squealed with glee from the basement of her house.

"Yes! Yes! I finally finished it!" she yelled.

"What? What happened?" asked Neji's frantic voice as he ran down the stairs.

"My hair growth shampoo! It's done! After months of experimentation, I think I've finally found the perfect mixture for the perfect hair growth. I'm going to go take a shower right now!" Miyu said as she grabbed her bottle of shiny pink shampoo and ran up the basement steps.

Neji walked slowly back up the stairs, sighing.

"How long until THIS little invention backfires horribly?" asked Miyu's younger brother, Azuri, who sat on a nearby sofa, watching television.

"I'll be generous and give her five minutes." Neji said, sitting across from him and picking up his newspaper.

Two minutes later, Neji put down the paper when he heard a cry for help.

"Too much hair! Too much! Somebody help me!"

"Wow. That's got to be a record." Azuri said, standing and running up the steps.

"Miyu! What happened?"

"I set myself on fire! What do you think happened?" Miyu screamed.

Azuri opened his sister's door and briskly strolled over to Miyu's bathroom.

"DON'T YOU OPEN THAT DOOR!" Miyu shrieked.

"How else am I supposed to help you?" Azuri said, ignoring Miyu's warning and opening the bathroom door.

A torrent of soggy, brown hair, exploded out of the bathroom and instantly smothered Azuri. The hair was like a liquid, quickly filling up the space around Miyu's room and steadily rising.

After some time, Miyu's room door broke down and the tsunami of hair swam down the stairs and began to fill the house.

After a few minutes, the house became so filled that the windows burst.

000

"Why do I always take the full brunt of your weird-ass experiments?" Azuri asked.

"Maybe you're just unlucky."

"No, it's not bad luck, it's a pattern. Every time something new of yours goes wrong, I'm the first one to get killed by it! I'm still spitting out clods of that tangled, brown mess you call hair."

Miyu gasped in offense.

"And while I'm at it, what was the point of that experiment? Your hair already flows down to your waist. How much more do you need on your head?"

"What? Oh! Ooh… Uh, that hair growth formula… wasn't for my head…"

"Wasn't for your head? What else could it be for?"

"Um…Don't think about it too much." Miyu said, patting Azuri on the shoulder and walking away with a snicker.

Azuri couldn't help but think about it, and after a moment, he understood, and immediately began to retch and gag, spitting as much of Miyu's hair out of his mouth as he could.

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(A/N: Poor, poor Azuri. :) I've decided against giving him his own personal chapter, since I think he's gone through more than enough in this one chapter alone. So, instead, the next chapter will be about Rock Lee's daughter, Rock Leah. See ya next time!)


	6. The Sheer Power of Youth

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(A/N: Here's the next chapter, featuring Rock Leah, daughter of Rock Lee and new original character: Muteki.)

Rock Lee stood at the Village gates, eyes sharpened and jaw locked, holding a ticking stopwatch. Nearby, a red-haired woman sat, reading a small book.

"Come on, Leah… There's only seven seconds left…" Lee murmured. 6.5 seconds later, a bright green flash zipped past Lee and he stopped the watch.

"New record, Leah! Four minutes and fifty-eight point five seconds!" Lee called.

"I would've been here a few seconds sooner, but I dropped one of the markers." the short young, spectacled girl said. She held several bright red flags, that had previously been scattered around the entire Village, far between each other. A normal human being would've taken the entire day finding those markers, but of course, no one in Lee's family is normal.

"Man, you two are a couple of freaks. But that's why I love you guys." said the red-haired woman, looking up from her book.

Lee and Leah smiled cheesily.

"So what's next, Pa? Five hundred push-ups? Seven hundred laps around the Village wall? Ooh! How about sparring?" Leah pleaded, her glasses shimmering.

"Do whatever you want! Self-training is the best training!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Power of youth!"

"Power of youth!"

Leah ran off with a scream of victory, and as soon as she was out of eyesight, Lee groaned and fell to the ground.

"She's killing me, Muteki…" Lee moaned. "We've been awake for a week straight, training for the Chunin Exams…"

"The Chunin Exams are months away, and she's not even out of the Academy yet." Muteki said with a furl of her eyebrows.

"I know! What's wrong with her? Leah makes Guy-sensei seem like a therapist!"

"And just think, when Leo gets about that age, we'll go through this all over again."

"We? She's killing ME. You're reading…The Scarlet Pimpernel."

"It's a really good book. Sue me."

"I just hope I don't end up in the hospital again. They have good service there, but for me, it just seems kind of redundant."

Almost on cue, a random tree careened through the air and landed on Lee as he tried to stand.

Leah came jogging from the forest, with eyes as large as dinner plates.

"Amazing! If I can throw a tree that far, I could probably throw a javelin halfway across the world! Mama, have you seen Pa anywhere?"

Muteki had fallen out of her chair from sheer surprise, knocking her own glasses to the ground.

"Eh, it looks like you're busy. I'll come back later. I've got a javelin to carve!" Leah said, picking up her tree, with Lee still stuck to it and jogging back into the forest.

Muteki eventually found her specs and readjusted them.

"Ah, screw it. I'm going home." Muteki said, trying to still her rapid heartbeat. She bookmarked the page of her novel and walked back into the Village.

**(A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. My internet isn't working right. Anyway, this is why Leah's one of my favorites. :) The next chapter will feature one ****************of Arata's best friends, an 'exchange student', if you will, from the Land of Earth, Ishibure Keikoku.**


	7. Accident

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(A/N: Here's the next chapter, in which we'll take a trip to the past and take a look at Ishibure Keikoku's first day in the Hidden Leaf Village. It's one of those chapters that digs into the mind, has little dialogue until the very end, and isn't meant to be comedic in nature. I forget what those are called.)

The young raven-haired girl looked around. The short, wooden buildings, the cawing crows, and the colorful people.

She hated it all.

On the outside, Ishibure was staying silent and stalwart, with an unreadable expression, but inwardly, she wanted to kill her bodyguards. And the Villagers back home. And finally, herself.

She wanted to kill her bodyguards because they were attracting much more attention than she preferred. She wanted to kill the Hidden Stone Villagers because they were the reason she had to relocate. She wanted to kill herself because of guilt.

The guilt of accidental murder.

'It was just an accident. It was just an accident.' Ishibure continued to tell herself, but after thinking about it for so long, Ishibure began to contemplate. Was it really an accident? Or did she truly murder her lifelong rival?

Only weeks earlier, ten-year old Ishibure was living happily in her homeland, the Village Hidden Amongst the Stones. She was the Tsuchikage's daughter, and therefore, nationally respected and held in high regard, especially at home.

One of Ishibure's closest friends was also one of her greatest rivals in the field of shinobi, Kotoba Tsuyoi, prodigy ninjutsu specialist.

Whenever they were together, Kotoba would've come up with another dumbass contest for the two to challenge each other to. He was always a daredevil, but, needless to say, one day, one of his contests got a little out of hand.

Kotoba had challenged Ishibure to a round of sparring using only Earth-style ninjutsu, which the Stone princess gladly obliged to.

Of course, Kotoba had to make the spectacle a public event, so he surprised Ishibure and started the sparring in the center of town, which could only take a downhill turn, which it did.

Completely caught off guard, Ishibure retaliated in what she originally thought was complete self-defense. Using a powerful, earth-moving jutsu on Kotoba, she critically injured him and rendered him paralyzed from the neck down. A couple of weeks later, it was announced that Kotoba had died.

Ishibure's friends knew in their hearts that she would never intentionally kill someone, but as it often does, gossip began to spread amongst the other Villagers, and it only took one slip of the tongue to throw the entire situation completely out of proportion.

People began to think that it was an intentional act, that Ishibure knew exactly what she was doing when she attacked Kotoba. She pleaded for the rumors to stop, but they only got stronger.

The controversy reached its peak once death threats started appearing at Ishibure's doorstep. Her father, fearing for his daughter's life, decided to relocate her to a place where she knew she'd be safe, and thus, there she was, trudging through the streets of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Ishibure assumed that she could put this behind her, but she just couldn't. She feared it would haunt her until the day she died.

Not thinking about her troubles for a moment, Ishibure looked around again and noticed that her surroundings had changed dramatically. She was standing inside a building, in front of a man with blonde, messy hair. Naruto Uzumaki.

She had met him before. Naruto was a good friend of her father.

Currently, the bodyguards were speaking with Naruto, who nodded at their words. But Ishibure didn't pay any attention to that. She noticed the young ten-year old standing at his side, who was smiling at her. She had a very round face and flushed cheeks, with tiny black whiskers on her face like Naruto.

With that in mind, Ishibure established that this was Naruto's daughter.

"Hi." the little girl said, walking up to Ishibure, who slightly shrank away in shyness.

"My name's Arata. What's yours?"

"I-Ishibure…"

"That's a pretty name."

"Well…it's not as pretty as Arata."

The young girl giggled. "Thanks. Mommy said that Dad wanted to name me Kisaki. Blegh! I think that Arata is a much better name. You wanna ditch this ramen shack and go do something fun? Dad won't mind, as long as we're supervised."

"But we're not supervised."

"Sure we are. You'll supervise me, I'll supervise you."

Strange logic, but Ishibure didn't care. She nodded, then followed her new friend out of the door.

-two years later-

Arata and Ishibure sat in the former's room, sharing laughs and drinking sodas.

The Stone princess looked nothing like she did when she first arrived. Her face had brightened a shade and her eyes were no longer dismal and sad.

"Cheers! To our two-year best-friend anniversary!" Arata said, raising her can.

"A-men!" Ishibure seconded, toasting with Arata and finishing off her drink.

Ishibure sighed, and looked out of Arata's window, at the short, wooden buildings, the cawing crows, and the colorful people.

She loved it all.

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(A/N: And there you have it! The next chapter will be the second-to-last introductory chapter, centered around the younger of Shikamaru and Ino's two children, Hanzatsu. The final intro chapter will feature the older, Shindoi.)


	8. Becoming a Man

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(A/N: Here's the second-to-last introductory chapter, featuring Hanzatsu Nara-Yamanaka, who tied with Sedai in having the least amount of screen time during my time on deviantART. Rest assured, Hanzatsu, that here, you'll get a lot more 'respect'. ;-)

An overdue disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That job belongs to the esteemed Masashi Kishimoto. There. I said it. I'm not saying it again.

Another thing that didn't fit into the 200 character summary: the story is rated T for infrequent coarse and/or vulgar language, as demonstrated in this chapter.)

Tonight was the night. THE night!

The young brown-haired boy sat up in his bed, eagerly watching the clock. The event he was eager to arrive at started at 10:45, but he intended to get there at 10:50, just to make sure that everyone would be 'in attendance'.

10:50 struck on his clock, and Hanzatsu could barely contain his excitement. His brother-slash-bunkmate, Shindoi, sat on the floor, reading.

"You sure you want to go through with this?" he asked, not looking up from his novel.

"Of course. I'm the only one who can do it."

"You, my brother, will go down in history, not only as the greatest hero to men, but also the biggest pervert alive." Shindoi said with a sly grin.

"You're the one who dared me to do it. Any repercussions I get, I'll blame on you. But I won't worry, because I won't GET any repercussions. Because my plan is bulletproof."

"You mean MY plan?"

"Yeah, whatever. Later, bro. Tonight, I-"

"Finally grow a boner? And don't say you become a man. That's a cliché."

"Fine. I'm out." Hanzatsu said, cupping his hands in front of him. "Mind Scope Jutsu!"

Hanzatsu fell backwards on his bed, unconscious. In the unseen world, his spirit looked around.

"I may not be able to see you, dude, but if you're there, good luck. You'll need it." Shindoi said, licking his finger and flipping a page of his book.

Hanzatsu nodded and flew his spiritual form through the house wall and into the open air.

Hanzatsu flew over the village, looking for his fateful landmark. He smiled as he noticed in, finally.

Steam, escaping from a large quadrilateral vent. Hanzatsu flew down to the building, taking a quick, deep breath, before phasing into the ceiling and gazing at all of the-

Hanzatsu froze, wide-eyed. His tongue dried and his pupils burned.

He screamed as loud as he could, which, of course, went unheard, and flew out of the building, back into his house and into his body, panting.

Shindoi laughed lowly to himself. "So, bro, how was it?"

"You lying rat bastard!"

"Hm?"

"You told me, and I quote, 'It's Ladies Night at the bathhouse from 10:45 to midnight. I dare you use Mind Scope to check it out.'"

"Yeah, SENIOR Ladies Night. I may have left that little detail out."

"You misled me!"

"It's your own fault, bro. First of all, you know me. You should've seen that coming a mile away. Secondly, it's friggin' 10:45 at night. What hot women did you think were going to be AWAKE at 10:45 at night? Third…well, that's pretty much it."

Unable to hold up his argument, Hanzatsu grunted indignantly and sat back in his bed, wanting to go back to sleep as quickly as possible.

"Hey, bro. Tomorrow is mixed bathing day at the hot springs." Shindoi said.

"Forget it. I'm not falling for it."

"Okay, then. If you say so." Shindoi said, picking up a dart that was laying on the floor and throwing it at the calendar. It struck the date of August 2nd,

which was circled and labeled 'Mixed Bathing Day'.********

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(A/N: Well! Two things have been established in one shot. Hanzatsu's an unlucky closet perv and Shindoi's a part-time incurable prankster. But in the next chapter, we'll see a little more of Shindoi's serious side when he steps in between his always-quarreling parents. That'll be the last introductory chapter and the next few chapters will have an actual mini-plot. Review!)


	9. Universal Temperatures Flaring

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(A/N: Here's the final introductory chapter, featuring Shindoi Nara-Yamanaka and his serious side. At this point, since you've familiarized yourself with the characters, you are now able to request future one-shots for one or several characters. Note that they may not get through right away, so if you don't see your request for a while, it doesn't mean I'm not taking it. Bear with me.)

He never asked for this life. He sure had it coming, but he never asked for it once.

Ino and Shikamaru looked at each other, shame clouding their eyes.

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(A/N: And there you have it, the serious Shindoi, which you don't often see. That was the final introductory chapter, so now, we're moving on to a little mini-plot, and after that, whatever you want. Occasionally, I'll stop for a second to jump into another mini-plot, but it'll basically be a myriad of sheer randomness. Doesn't that sound fun? If it does, leave your ideas for future one-shots. The approaching mini-plot will focus on the young ninjas getting out of the Academy and jumping into their squads. It will feature Arata and Sedai in the later chapters. REVIEW!)

Shindoi can't remember one instance when his parents talked to each other without yelling, which was just plain sad, according to him.

Of course, neither of them yelled when he or Hanzatsu were in the room. They'd just stay silent until he left, then continue their fight.

It could be worse. Shikamaru could've been abusive. Ino could've been whoring. Both of them say that the other is just going through a phase. But this phase has lasted for ten years, ever since Shindoi was six and Hanzatsu was just a toddler.

What made the fights even sadder was the fact that they'd start yelling at each other over the simplest things: chores, who would cook dinner, who left the toilet seat up, which more often than not led back to Hanzatsu.

This week, it was the thermostat, which wasn't really that silly, if you thought about it. Ino liked to keep the temperature at 73° F, and Shindoi didn't blame her, because her goosebumps were unsightly. Somehow, Ino forced herself not to sweat, which is more than Shikamaru, Shindoi, or Hanzatsu ever did.

Sometimes, Shikamaru got so into a book that he didn't notice that he was sweating until it turned into drowning, which opted him to turned the thermostat down to HIS ideal temperature, 69, which, during the fall, was motherf*cking cold.

Ino obviously had a problem with this. Exhibit A, her mountainous molehills known as goosebumps. She complained that it was too cold. Shikamaru complained that when she had her way, it was too hot. The yelling started.

That's when things started getting over the top, which leads us to the present day. A loud crash caused Shindoi to flinch, causing the book he was reading to fly into the air and fall down the huge slats on his floor vent.

"Aw, man." Shindoi grumbled, dully listening to his parents go at it as he tried to retrieve his novel.

"It's a frickin' five-degree difference! What the hell is the problem?" Shikamaru yelled out.

"The problem is, you don't even do anything worth breaking a sweat over, so why should you mind that it's hot?" Ino retorted.

"It's not hot! It's a HELLHOLE! But you're cold-blooded, so I guess it doesn't make a difference to you!"

Shindoi found his book and wiped the dust and grime off of the cover and spine. As he did, Shikamaru continued to yell.

"And another thing! Why are you so hell-bent on controlling everything in this house? Okay, I touched your precious thermostat. You didn't have to throw a vase at me!"

"Trust me! You don't know HOW long I've wanted to throw this vase at you!"

Shindoi marked his page and closed the book, beginning to walk downstairs. As soon as the quarreling parents heard the footsteps, they immediately went silent.

Shindoi didn't say a word to either as he walked toward the thermostat and set it up to 71. He then followed up by punching the thermostat as hard as he could, causing the dial to fall off and stay stuck at 71 degrees.

"That's the new universal temperature." Shindoi said with deep contempt in his voice. "I don't give a damn if you have a problem with it. This is how it's going to be. Deal with it! And since you two babies are going to argue over who cleans up MY vase that **_I_** made once I leave, I'll just clean that up while I'm at it. You only get one chance at a heartfelt gift, and I'm not making another one."

Shindoi picked the shattered remains of his homemade vase and tossed them in the trash, throwing his parents one more disgusted scowl before walking back up to his room and slamming the door.


	10. The Next Generation: Party Time

****

(A/N: And we're back! Sorry for such a long wait, but guess what? It paid off! School is now in full swing for me, so don't fret if I disappear like that occasionally. I am drowning in projects right now.

With that being said, let's stop wasting time and get to the story!)

For the fifth time this morning, Arata felt the annoying tickle of a perverted teenage hand brushing against her backside.

She, along with several other young ninja, were crowded around a bulletin board that held the names of all of the Academy Grads. Arata knew that her name was up there, and so did the pervs that were trying to get fresh with her, but Arata was checking for the names of her friends.

After examining the board, Arata squealed with delight when she saw Ishibure's name, along with Sani, Soni, Suni, Miyu, Hanzatsu, Arufa (finally), and Leah.

Then it happened a sixth time.

Grumbling to herself, Arata tried to squeeze her way through the jungle of hands pawing at her body as she walked.

"Sani! You and your sisters passed!" Arata said when she finally escaped the sea of desperation.

"Of course we did. Father made sure of that. Although he IS still miffed at the Shinobi Counsel for not allowing us to take our grad test at an earlier age. If he had his way, we'd be Chunin by now." Sani said. "Hey, is your dad organizing the teams?"

"He already has. He hasn't officially announced them yet, but he told me who my teammates would be!"

"And? And? Come on, tell me!"

"Me, you, and Azuri Hyuga."

"Azuri? Wasn't he already part of a squad?"

"With my brother, Shindoi, and his father, Neji. I guess the teams are being reordered. But let's not worry about that now! My dad's throwing a party for me and the other graduates in the Academy gym! You coming?"

"If my dad's in a good mood. I'll ask him. See you later."

Arata waved goodbye to Sani as she turned and departed.

000

"Hurry up, Arata! You don't want to be late for your own party, do you?" Naruto called up the stairs of the Uzumaki household. Hinata sat in a rocking chair nearby, humming to herself.

"Don't spoil me, Dad. It's not my party. It doesn't matter when we get there." Arata said as she walked down the stairs.

Earlier that evening, Hinata had put golden extensions in Arata's hair, so that her locks flowed down past her back. A couple of thick strands were placed across her shoulders. She was wearing a blue sleeved sequin dress that extended to her ankles, along with her best shoes.

"I hate this get-up." Arata grumbled, picking at the gaudy sequins.

"Now, now, Arata. Your friends can dress up like hookers if they want, but no daughter of mine will attend a social gathering without looking formal and elegant. And leave the dress alone. It didn't do anything to you." Naruto said, tapping Arata's hand to keep her from picking at the sequins. "Sedai went through this phase, and when Kisaki is born, she'll go through the same phase, too."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Kisaki is a stupid name, and you are not giving my daughter a stupid name." Hinata said firmly. "Her name will be Shisome."

"How is Shisome less stupid than Kisaki?"

"Because Shisome actually MEANS something. You just want to name her Kisaki because it rhymes with 'Uzumaki'."

"Can we go already? I'm chafing!" Arata pleaded, waddling back and forth.

"Fine, fine. Let's go." Naruto said, buttoning up his black-and-orange suit before opening the door and walking Arata outside.

000

Minutes later, Naruto and Arata strolled into the Academy gymnasium.

"Come on. Don't look so down, Arata. You're the best-dressed young lady in here. Everybody's eyes will be on you."

"I don't want everyone's eyes on me. I want to be normal for a COUPLE of hours. Besides, their eyes travel."

"That's the beauty of a non-formfitting dress. Every curve is covered and every inch of immodest skin is hidden. You're all good! Now get out there and have some fun!"

Arata sighed and walked into the fray of dancing young graduates. Naruto was right. Every eye landed on her. She caught some snickers from the girls who could actually wear fashionable clothes.

After a minute, Arata found Sani, who was wearing a tight-fitting sleeveless knee dress.

"The rents force you into that?" Sani asked, trying to retain a snicker.

"Yeah, but I have a plan. Hold tight." Arata said, elbowing her way into an empty corner of the gym.

"Transform!" she whispered, going up in a puff of smoke. When the cloud disappeared, instead of Arata, there stood an ANBU personnel. Clearing her throat and deepening her voice, Arata hastened over to Naruto, who was taking a sip of punch on the other side of the room.

"Lord Hokage, there's urgent business at the government center. You're needed immediately."

"What's the problem?" Naruto asked.

"A heated argument has arisen about the recent international trade bills you've approved. The Counsel needs you to be a mediator."

"I knew that controversy would start to float over that bill. I'm on my way." Naruto said, walking toward the door. Once he was out of sight, Arata transformed back into her original self and ran back to where Sani was standing.

"And that's how you get rid of the Hokage." she said. "That should delay him for a bit, because I heard Dad say that there was a governor meeting about some international trade bills, and I'd be shocked if there WASN'T a fight going on right now."

"Nice, but you're still wearing an ugly dress."

"I've got it covered. Come with me to the bathroom and make sure no one else comes in."

Arata entered the girl's lavatory, and when she came out, her clothes had completely changed. Now, she was wearing a tiny blue sleeveless shirt that exposed her entire stomach and midriff area, along with a sparkling, tight-fitting blue thigh skirt.

"How do I look?"

"Like a slut!" Sani said with a smile.

"Perfect!" Arata cheered, high-fiving Sani. "Wait, one more thing."

Arata reached into her skirt and pulled off the panties she was wearing, twirling them on her finger before throwing them in the trash can nearby.

"Now I'm normal! Let's hit the floor!"

000

The party carried on into the night, and Arata was having the time of her life. For once in her life, not only was she acting normal, but she was being treated normally as well. She no longer stood out, so she could roll with the tide really easily. Sani didn't do much dancing. She stood by the punch table and watched the others.

"Hello there, Sani. Fine evening?"

"Hi, Mr. Uzumaki. I guess this is a good dance. I haven't really-"

Sani looked up at her Hokage, then at the dance floor, trying to pick Arata out of the crowd, and once she did, looked back up at Naruto.

"I haven't really…been doing much dancing…Can you excuse me for a second?"

Before getting an answer, Sani ran into the crowd and tapped Arata on her shoulder.

"Arata! Dad alert!"

"What? Oh no! Cover me! I've got to get back to the bathroom!"

Arata and Sani began to awkwardly stumble through the ocean of people toward the girl's bathroom. As she did, she accidentally stumbled into someone who was holding a drink, spilling the sticky contents all over Arata.

Almost immediately, the skimpy, soaked clothing began to unravel, and it only took moments for them to fall off of her completely, leaving her rushing through a crowded dance floor naked. Sani covered her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud.

By the time Arata reached the bathroom, she had left a swathe of people furling their eyebrows, wondering if what they had just saw was real.

000

Minutes later, after Arata had gotten back into her dress, hid her other clothes under the dress and rushed her father out of the gymnasium, saying a rushed goodbye to Sani, she entered the house and sat down on the couch beside Hinata's chair, who had since gone to bed, along with Sedai.

Arata never noticed that Naruto had not been following her all the way home until he entered minutes later, wearing an amused expression.

"I went back to the party because you rushed me out of there so fast that I forgot my book that I was reading. While I was there, one of the maintenance workers came to me with something that he fished out of the trash can."

'Uh oh.' Arata thought, then her worst fears were realized when Naruto took a pair of panties from behind his back.

"Do these look familiar?"

"Those could be anybody's."

Naruto showed her the tag, which had Arata's name markered onto it.

"Don't look so scared, honey. I'm not Sasuke. I won't hit you for disobeying me. And even though I'm a little upset that you did, I'm glad you had fun tonight. Hold that thought. These being in the trash don't have anything to do with a boy, do they?"

"No. Not at all, I swear."

"I'm glad you had fun tonight. Goodnight." Naruto said, kissing Arata's forehead before walking up the steps. "Your team meets up the day after tomorrow."

Arata breathed out a huge sigh before standing and walking upstairs to her own room to go to sleep.

****

(A/N: There's the first chapter of a four-part mini-plot. In the next chapter, the Triplets, Sasuke, and Sakura will be featured. Leave your reviews if you have any ideas for future episodes! See you guys next time. Goodnight!)


	11. The Next Generation: Dinner Party

****

(A/N: Next chapter rolling right through! Let's get started! Today, we take a look into the house lives of the Uchiha family.)

Sasuke's bleary eyes slowly opened in response to the morning light striking his face. The sleepiness slowly ebbed away, as the memories of the previous night began to come back to him.

The focus of those memories happened to be snoring softly next to him, his pink-haired wife, Sakura Uchiha.

Sasuke rolled closer to his beloved and kissed her softly on the lips, taking in her beautifully familiar taste. The one kiss was enough to stir Sakura awake, and with an eager giggle, she returned the kiss, parting her lips slightly to allow Sasuke's tongue further entry.

Sasuke pulled away first, allowing them both to breath in.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but a different voice spoke first.

"You lied to me."

Both lovers turned with a gasp to Sani, who was sitting on the foot of the bed, watching them with sharp eyes.

"Sani, what are you doing here? And who lied to you?" Sasuke asked, trying to ease his beating heart.

"You did! You told me that the reason you couldn't train me last night was because you had an urgent Special Ops assignment, but when I woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink, I saw you giving it to Mom on the floor of your bedroom! Soundproof rooms and dirty secrets only work if you CLOSE THE DOOR!"

Sakura gasped and glared at Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, Sani. I promise that I'll make it up to you." Sasuke said

"Oh, you bet you will!" Sani and Sakura said at the same time.

"Why are YOU against me? You got the long end of the stick!" Sasuke asked Sakura, chuckling as he recognized the pun he just made.

"You sacrificed an opportunity to better our daughter just to satisfy your own desire for sex! You think that's okay?"

"No, but think about it! Sani got a well-deserved break from her training, and we got some time to ourselves! Everybody wins, right?"

"Wrong! In case you've forgotten, I'm joining a squad tomorrow! I can't afford a break from my training! So get out of bed, get dressed, and come downstairs so we can train! And you!" Sani snorted, turning with a glare to Sakura.

"What? What did I do?"

"If you have to be that loud, at least get us some muffs so the three of us don't have to listen to you scream Dad's name all night." Sani said before turning and walking out of the room.

After a few seconds, Sasuke began to rub Sakura's shoulders.

"Come on. One quickie before we get up?" he offered, reaching under Sakura's sheets.

"Get off of me!" Sakura retorted, grabbing her pajama pants that hung from the overhead fan and getting out of the bed, hastily dressing herself from the waist down. "And you can forget about any sex until further notice!"

"Oh, come on! You can't deprive me! I'm addicted to you!" Sasuke pleaded, grabbing Sakura's arm.

"Can I kiss your breasts? Just once?"

"No."

"Can I touch them?"

"No!"

"Can I get one more good-morning frenchie?"

"Sasuke, don't make me hurt you!"

"That would be great! Hit me! Smack me! Spank me! Step on my cubes! Anything to turn me on for just two seconds!"

Sakura yanked away from Sasuke and threw on a shirt before walking out of the Uchiha manor's master bedroom and slamming the door.

"I hope you end up pregnant again!" Sasuke screamed before dropping his head to the floor and crying. "I've been hanging around Naruto too much…"

000

Sakura yawned and scratched the back of her neck as she started to crack eggs into a frying pan.

Just as the breakfast for five finished scrambling, Soni and Suni came downstairs.

"Oh, no. We didn't keep you guys up, too, did we?" Sakura asked once she saw Soni's drooping eyes and Suni's ratty hair.

"Yeah. My eyes AND my ears hurt." Suni whined.

"Well, don't worry. Your father and I won't be getting loud anymore for a while. Now, who's ready for breakfast?"

Suni smoothed down her hair and sat down at the table. Soni shook her head.

"I'm not hungry. Has Mr. Uzumaki announced the teams yet?"

"He has. Suni, you're being placed on Team 10 as Azuri's replacement.

Suni gasped. "No way! I'm going to be on Shindoi Nara-Yamanaka's team?"

"Who?"

"Shindoi, the cutest ninja in the entire village! I dreamt about him last night… Oh, that reminds me! Mom, my sheets and another pair of pajama pants need washing again."

Sakura sighed and put Suni's breakfast in front of her.

"I'll take care of them later. Soni, you're being teamed up with Hanzatsu Nara-Yamanaka and Rock Leah."

"Cool. I know both of them. Should be fun. Han's a bit of a perv, though."

Soni turned at the sound of stomping and instinctively got out of the way of an angry Sani charging down the hall.

"Dad! Get down here and train me!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Stop yelling!" Sasuke said, gracelessly walking down the steps and following Sani down the hall into the sparring room.

"'Perv', you say? How so?" Sakura asked, ignoring her husband.

"Well, it's not fair to say that he's a full-on pervert. I just notice how he looks at girls. And when he thinks I'm not looking at him, he's peeking at magazines and books of questionable content."

"Just let me know if he does anything 'questionable' to you, and I'll straighten him out." Sakura promised, tossing Soni a granola bar.

"I'm not hungry." the middle triplet repeated.

"You've got to eat something, dear."

Soni sighed and reluctantly took a bite of the bar.

"We're going to have dinner at the Uzumaki household tonight, so get your best clothes ready for the occasion."

"Aw… Why does it have to be a formal dinner? It's not like we're strangers to Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki. Can't we have a casual dinner with them for once?" Suni asked.

"Even though he's not a stranger to us, Naruto is still the Hokage, and we have to respect him as such."

Suni sighed and continued her breakfast.

The quietness of the manor was shattered by the sounds of combat from across the hall.

The sparring room doors opened, releasing a smoldering cloud of electric smoke. Sani and Sasuke stumbled out at the same time, covered in ash, scratches, and blood.

"I think…that she's ready…" Sasuke said before passing out.

000

Later that evening both the Uchiha family and the Uzumaki family were sitting at a large round table, awaiting their dinner. In the kitchen, Naruto used a dishcloth to wipe his brow while he stewed over a pot of udon and vegetables.

"Are you sure you don't need any help, Naruto? I'm not too pregnant to cook, you know." Hinata asked.

"No, no, my queen. This is a special day. Leave all of the work to me."

"Special day?" Sakura asked.

"Shisome's expected arrival date is exactly two months from now, and Naruto is making a huge deal over it."

"In two months, I'm matching your record, you rat bastard!" Naruto called to Sasuke.

"Ha! I got three kids in one round! Match that, you dope!"

"Sasuke, enough! We'll have no fighting here!" Sakura warned.

"Ooh! Three girls who nobody can tell the difference between! Impressive!"

"Stop it, Naruto! I will not allow either of you to use your children as fodder for your stupid arguments!" Hinata growled.

"Sorry, dear."

"Boy, does she have you on a-" Sasuke started, but he stopped short after catching an icy glare from Sakura.

"So what's new with you two?" Sakura asked Hinata.

"Just this." Hinata said, lifting her arm and showing Sakura the new bracelet that hung around her wrist. "Naruto bought it for me today. He says that it's a gift for being the best wife a man could ever have, but I think he just misses sex."

"I take offense in that! Why is it that whenever I get you a gift, it automatically has something to do with sex?"

"Because it always does! It always does." Hinata repeated quieter to Sakura and Sasuke. "Sedai came forth from these earrings."

Sakura smiled amusedly, and Sasuke tried and failed to retain a snicker.

"Arata was formed as a result of this beautiful necklace. Shisome's in here right now because of a sapphire ring he gave me seven months ago."

"Speaking of which, where are the kids? They were sitting in the living room a minute ago." Sasuke said, looking back at the empty couch a few yards behind him.

"I thought I saw Suni go upstairs. Should I bring them back down?" Sakura asked.

"Nah. Dinner won't be ready for another fifteen minutes or so. Let the girls have their fun." Naruto said.

000

All three of the Uchiha Triplets' formal dresses hung from knobs on the wall. The former wearers of those dresses were sitting on the floor of Arata's bedroom, in their underwear.

Three out of four of the girls were staring at each other intensely. Sani was sitting on Arata's bed, reading a magazine.

"Ready?" Arata asked.

Soni and Suni nodded.

"Set?"

All three girls positioned their hands behind their backs.

"GO!"

In one fluid motion, all three girls unlatched their bras and took them off.

"First place! Mine are biggest!" Arata declared.

"I'm third." Soni said.

"How is that possible? I'm sure that mine were bigger the last time we had this contest!" Suni said.

"My mom is well-endowed. She had a high growth rate, too." Arata said, feeling her breasts before reaching for her bra.

"You three are stupid. You're basically judging which one of you will have the worst back problems at thirty. Thankfully, I don't have any to worry about yet." Sani said, tapping her own flat chest.

"Girls! Come down for dinner!" called Hinata's voice.

"We'll be down in a second, Mom!" Arata called back, reaching for her dress. The Triplets scrambled for their own clothes.

000

Arata stared at the ghastly, bubbling bowl of veggie udon before her.

"Did Dad make this?" she asked.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Arata glanced at the ominous bowl again. "Shot in the dark."

"Go on. Eat up." the messy-haired Hokage said eagerly.

Arata looked around and saw everybody else enjoying the udon, so she shrugged and took a taste.

"Mm! This is good!" Arata said, taking another bite.

"So, what were you four doing upstairs?" Hinata asked.

"Comparing boob sizes." Sani said blandly

"What?"

"Comparing ROOM sizes! My room is bigger than the Triplets' rooms." Arata corrected.

Sani smiled slyly, then took another bite of udon.

"Suni, slow down! No one is going to take your food from you!" Sasuke said.

"Sowwy, Daddy." Suni said with a full mouth.

"So, Arata, Sedai? Are you both properly trained and ready to jump into your squads?" Sakura asked.

Sedai nodded. Arata opened her mouth to speak, but a gurgle in her stomach and a gag in her throat silenced her.

Sakura furled her eyebrows. "Are you okay? You don't look too-"

All of a sudden, Sakura's cheeks filled and she clutched her stomach. After sheer moments of resistance, Sakura finally poured her guts out.

Sasuke made no attempt to hold back and vomited all of the udon he had eaten back into the bowl before falling backwards in his chair.

Sani had turned green, and Suni's eyes were vibrating. Both vomited on the floor almost simultaneously.

Arata's stomach felt like someone had fired a cannon into her intestines, and before she knew what was happening, she puked a waterfall into her bowl, leaned back in her chair and collapsed, unconscious.

Sedai and Hinata's eyes respectively diluted, and they fell forward, slamming their faces into their bowls before unconsciously vomiting.

Soni, the only one who had not eaten any of the udon, pushed her bowl away.

"I'll pass, if you don't mind."

"What's going on? I cooked that udon perfectly!"

Naruto picked up the box of E-Z noodles that he used to make the dish and made a sideways glance at the expiration date: 4/23/09.

"Uh oh…" Naruto whispered to himself before his stomach exploded all over the table.

Soni looked around at the vomit-covered unconscious bodies before her.

"Nobody get up. I'll call the hospital." she said, standing and walking to the nearby phone. "What a fun dinner party this has been."

****

(A/N: And there's the second part to the four-part plot. The next two parts will feature Arata and Sedai getting adjusted to their new teams…or will they? Find out in the next chapter!

Oh! One more thing before we go! There was a Family Guy reference somewhere in this chapter. If you can find it, you get to make a one-shot request for the chapter directly after 'The Next Generation' storyline ends! Get guessing!

Seeya next time!)


	12. The Next Generation: Meet and Greet

**(A/N: Here we go again! The third part of this four-part plot, where Arata joins her team and Sedai meets up with his, or so they think. Read on to find out what happens next!**

**Probably should've mentioned the little hiatus, but this is kind of a side project until I finish my big story, Avatar: Rise of the Shadowbenders. Check it out if you're a fan of Avatar.**

**Now, onto the story!)**

"Why the hell did we have to move our friggin' training area?" Sedai mumbled to himself as he used his Byakugan to try to edge his way through the forest. "These rookies are more trouble to the cause than they're worth."

Sedai ended up traveling in circles until he finally felt something familiar.

"Ah… There's Azuri's chakra. I must be in the right place."

Sedai walked into an open area, looking around and taking in his surroundings.

Azuri was here, but sitting beside him was someone he vaguely recognized. His mind began to work when he saw the insignia embroidered on her shirt.

"You're an Uchiha, aren't you?"

"Gee, what clued you in, genius?" Sani asked, standing.

"Definitely an Uchiha. Are you Shindoi's replacement?"

Sedai and Sani walked up to each other. Even though she was much shorter than the lean Uzumaki, Sani was still able to cast the proverbial shadow of intimidation over Sedai's face.

"Who do you think you are, walking in her like you own the place?"

"This is MY squad. You're just a sub, a replacement.""You don't know where you are, either, do you? This is Team 7's training ground."

'Damn it…' Sedai thought, embarrassed, while his outward appearance didn't change. 'This is Arata's squad. But where'd my sister end up?'

000

Arata collapsed through the underbrush, panting. She slowly stood and brushed the thorns and dirt from her skin.

"This is the worst map in the world. How am I supposed to follow these directions without cardinal points? It looks like this was drawn freehand!"

Arata looked around, putting the map down for a second in order to properly stare in confusion.

She had reached a waterfall area, surrounded in mist and framed on either side by glossy, moss-covered cliffs, centered with a transparent rainbow that met the waterfall right at its middle.

"Wow! This is so…wrong… This is far off from where I'm SUPPOSED to be! It's going to take me as much time as it took for me to get HERE to trudge all the way over there!"

Arata sighed and dropped her head. If you looked closely enough, you can just faintly see her spirit breaking.

"Well…no use procrastinating by sitting and complaining about it. Better head for-"

Just as Arata turned around, a tagged kunai flew through the air and exploded at her feet, forcing her to hop back in shock and sudden fear.

"You missed, Mr. Sharpshooter!" yelled an indignant female voice from somewhere above. "And a good thing, too! That's Arata down there!"

"Well, excuse me for not having the Sharingan, MOM! I can't see through everything!"

Arata squealed and leaped back as two shadowy forms leapt to the ground beside her.

"It's okay! We're friends! It's Suni!" said the cheery Uchiha as she stepped out from the mist to meet Arata. "You know Shindoi, right?"

Arata nodded a greeting to the slack-eyed Nara, who nodded back.

"What are you doing here? Isn't Sedai supposed to be here instead of you? Was there a mix-up in the squad-placement?"

"No, there was a mix-up with my dad's horrible charting skills. I couldn't read this map to save my life!"

"Well, it's a long way back home, so why don't you just stay and spar with us so you don't waste the day? All of the sensei are in a meeting to determine how each squad's regimen will pan out, so Neji-sensei isn't here. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if he was."

Arata shrugged, not being able to think of anything better to do with her time.

"Alright, then. I'm up for it."

000

"I see you've made friends with Sani." Azuri said to Sedai, sitting next to him.

"I don't get her. Is she mad at me or something?"

"Who, Sani? Naw, she's always like this. I've known her since our first year in the Academy, and her mood has never gone above agitated."

"Hey, white-eyes! Make yourself useful and come spar! I need a dummy to beat on!" Sani called.

"Although, she may just not like you." Azuri added as Sedai stood with a groan.

000

"You ready, Arata? We're going to be holding back a little, since it's two-against-one." Suni said.

"I guess. Come at me." Arata said, taking a defensive Hyuga stance.

Suni smiled, then ran forward, with Shindoi tagging behind.

Arata easily deflected Suni's first punch, but was unprepared for the kunai-wielding Nara, barely managing to duck. Arata soon found herself caught, an enemy on either side of her. This was perhaps the single-worst position a ninja could be in, and the pressure was on.

In desperation, Arata made a hand sign.

"Byakugan!" she yelled, causing her eyes to expand and intensify, growing bulging veins around her eyes and temples,

Now that she could see almost completely around her, Arata had an easier time defying the attacks of her opponents. She felt confident that she'd win, until an icy feeling passed over her entire body and she froze in her tracks.

"Shadow Possession: Successful. Do the honors, Suni."

"With pleasure!" Suni said with her signature smile, flexing her left hand and charging a sparkling pink Chidori. Once it was charged enough, Suni rushed at the immobilized Arata, slamming her hand into her chest.

"Chidori!" Suni yelled as Arata virtually exploded, flying into the air and landing with a thud, extra-crispy and unconscious.

Shindoi walked up to examine her.

"Yeah, she'll be out for a while."

"Well, I don't see any reason to stay; we're clearly working together really well, and there's Arata to consider. Maybe we should take her home."

"I guess you're right." Shindoi said, picking her up and throwing her over her shoulder.

"Say, after this, you want to go out, grab a bite to eat?" Suni offered.

"Cool, as long as you're paying."

Both Suni and Shindoi laughed as they walked.

"But seriously, are you paying?" Shindoi asked as they broke away from the laughter.

000

Sedai and Sani had been sparring for almost an hour, and neither had an ounce of quit in them yet. Azuri had fallen asleep, and the moon was beginning to peek out.

"I guess I had you pegged wrong; you're pretty good for an Uzumaki."

"You're not half-bad yourself, for an Uchiha."

"Too bad I have to end this right here!" Sani said, lifting her hand and charging a crackling blue Chidori in her palm. Once it was large enough, Sani rushed forward.

Sedai held his ground, surrounding his hand with energy, which took the shape of a lion.

"Ha! Chidori!"

"Hyuga Lion Fist!"

As the two warriors yelled their battle cries, their attacks clashed, sending up a huge explosion which jarred Azuri awake.

When the smoke cleared from the battlefield, Azuri saw both Sani and Sedai lying face-up on the blackened ground, their eyes rolled back in their heads.

"Oh, jeez…" he said, rubbing his nape as he considered his options.

"Eh, they can sleep it off." Azuri said, standing to leave. He stopped.

"Ehh, but I'm not a bad person." he said, turning back to them.

"But they're too heavy to carry." he observed, turning again. He just as quickly turned back on his heel.

"But I'm STIIL not a bad person… Aha!"

Azuri took two scrolls out of his pack and walked toward the downed ninjas.

000

Soni and Suni stared at the scroll that sat on the Uchiha manor's living room table.

"What do you think it is? It was just sitting on our doorstep." Soni said.

"Not sure… Sani would probably know, if she ever comes home." Suni said.

"What if one of us uses the Sharingan to look at it?"

"But if it's a bomb, what if the trigger is if it's looked at with the Sharingan?"

"Oh, for God's sake, open the goddamn scroll!" yelled a muffled voice from seemingly inside the scroll.

"Was that Sani's voice?" Soni asked, picking up the scroll. She slowly opened it, and a puff of smoke jumped out, followed by Sani, panting and coughing.

"Why were you in that scroll?" Suni asked.

"Because Azuri is a lazy asshole!" Sani seethed, grinding her teeth together. "I'm going to kill him tomorrow…"

Sani continued to mutter as she went upstairs.

The other two triplets looked at each other with stares of confusion.

000

"I'm telling you, Naruto, it's not a trap scroll." Hinata groaned, looking at the mystery parcel for the umpthteenth time at her husband's request.

"Maybe it's your Byakugan. Your pregnancy could be screwing with your jutsu." Naruto said, carefully tapping the scroll with a pencil.

"There's nothing wrong with my Byakugan." Hinata defended with a frown. "You're just paranoid."

"Uh, hello? Strange scroll randomly left on the Hokage's doorstep with no note or deliverer? That doesn't sound suspicious to you?"

"Well if you're so concerned, I'll open it." Hinata said, reaching for it.

"No!" Naruto squealed, jumping over the desk and grabbing Hinata, pulling her gently away from the scroll.

"What are you doing?" Hinata said in frustration, yanking away from Naruto.

"I can't let you put yourself or Shisome at risk! You're both too precious to me. I'll open it… Just leave the room first."

"Ugh, fine…" Hinata said, walking out of their bedroom and sitting right outside, rubbing her swelled stomach.

"Don't grow up to be like your father, please." Hinata whispered to her unborn child.

"AH!" Naruto yelled, after a loud boom and a puff of smoke leaving the doorframe.

Hinata quickly got up and entered the room, letting the cloud of smoke out first before entering.

Sedai walked past Hinata, rubbing his head tiredly.

"Sedai? Where- Wha- How'd- Where did you come from? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it…" Sedai said, slowly shuffling away toward his room.

Hinata turned to Naruto, who was sitting on the floor by the open window, clutching his heart.

"Is my 'paranoia' justified now?" Naruto asked. "I'm never opening another mystery package again!"

Hinata sighed and shook her head, carefully climbing into the bed.

"You've got your work cut out for you, Shisome." Hinata said before lying down to fall asleep.

**(A/N: Well, that's all for this chapter. Not sure when the next one is coming, but we meet the other two teams in that chapter. The chapter after this one, Team 7 has their first real mission!**

**Again, this will be labeled 'side project' until I finish Avatar, so expect slow updates… T-T**

**Until next time, folks!)**


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